Outlaws: Raiders of Weyard
by Miyu.Lara
Summary: Things have changed for everyone since the event in mercury lighthouse. Three years of peace from their foes followed their victory. It seems howevery, that the peace has all been used up and the heroes must return to the path of the augury.
1. Prelude

_Alright, so I've announced it for a while, and here it is. It's gone through a lot of revising and editing from me since I had made it first person view from Isaac's point of view then I realized that it wouldn't work with the plan so anyways, here it is, after the intensive editing: Raiders of Weyard._

_To avoid any confusion, this takes place three years after the original story of Outlaws._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun._

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**Chapter 1:** Prelude

_It began so long ago, when the world was first created. The inhabitants of our past were named Ancients. They were believed to be Sol's greatest creations. They were just like us. They were adepts. After a few elemental conflicts, they split into clans. A war broke out, putting the opposing elements against one another. They built the lighthouses, scattered close to their capital cities to protect their people and to foretell the attacks of their enemies. The Gods, the four masters of all matter, also took part into this quarrel. Without the knowledge of Sol, they each crafted and offered to the leaders of the clans a powerful glowing stone they called the Elemental Stars. With the power of the stars, the battles became fiercer and the deaths, even more morbid than before. _

_Sol, master of all, found out about the treachery of the gods. It pained him so much, that he forbade the four maidens of the sun to shine upon the only source of light of the day. Three years of darkness and three years of peace followed this decision. No one dared to fight, led only by light of Luna. But Sol's spouse grew tired of forever shining the moon and convinced Sol to start showing the sun once again._

_Sol realized his mistake, he had made the Ancients too powerful. And with the Elemental Stars, they had only grown stronger. After a long period of thinking, Sol decided to take away the powerful stars and hide them where no mortal could get their hands on them. He created an entity named The Wise One to protect the stones as well. When the lighthouses were once again unlit, the faculties of the Ancients returned to their former extent. But Sol didn't find the beings that had caused so much chaos into his world worthy of the wonderful gift that is alchemy. He ordered the four gods of Elemental Power, Venus, Mars, Mercury and Jupiter, to take away their powers of psynergy for them to remain living as regular people. _

_The race of the Ancients lived and died out, and from the children that had came out of this age, only a few had been blessed by Sol and Luna with alchemy. The clans were reformed, but were assigned by the gods to protect the lighthouses, while one special people were assigned to protect the Mount where Sol had hidden the source of all power that alimented alchemy._

_But one day, this hiding place was disrupted and the elemental stars were robbed and taken away. Defied by the gods, a group of adepts sought to release the true power of alchemy upon the world. In a struggling effort, two young boys were sent away from Mt. Aleph to recover the stolen star, having only managed to save the Mars star. After failing to stop Mercury, Venus and Jupiter to be lit, they joined forces with those seeking to light the ancient lighthouses. _

_It was there that they learned about the threat which Weyard was exposed to. Without alchemy, the world would just wither away and die, eaten by the great Gaia Falls. Risking everything, they lit the final lighthouse together, and after many struggles, brought peace back to the world._

_Sadly, an awful and mysterious epidemic hit the heroes, whom all fell at its hands. The last one standing, their leader, then sealed alchemy once again, persuaded the threat had been born from there. He hoped the world could turn long enough until someone else would figure out what was needed to be done to save it._

_But their exploits and alchemy were soon forgotten after their death for mankind evolved into invention and technology. And only after centuries, had gone from an era of medievalism to an era of industrialism. _

_The only relic which remained of their age was Sol Sanctum, the lighthouses, and eight children whom Sol had crafted their faces into. This time, he had seen the end years sooner than he had before. Those eight children, I am one of them…_

_But with no training whatsoever related to psynergy, we couldn't save the world, let alone know anything about our past. The Wise One acted for us. Using his strong powers, he revived the eight heroes, our ancestors, and our images. After lighting the lighthouses once again, they made us their pupils and for weeks we were locked in Sol Sanctum, learning all they knew. _

_Then too soon, the problems started. We had to sail to Lemuria, the heart of the Eastern Sea. And only there did we learn the truth; it was then that we learnt why we were so important…_

_There is this poem a late seer of Lemuria has written which Queen Anaya has given us. It's driven us to where we are today…but where are we heading for with only two verses uncovered? Where do we go from here…?_

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"It's heading for the port!"

Jenna ran after the beast while awaiting backup from the ship. From the shadow it cast, she could see that it was huge. She tightened her grip on her sword and continued her pace.

"Jenna," came Felix's voice from the ear-talkie, "don't move. Backup is on the way."

Jenna stopped in her tracks and eyed the creature from around a corner. It would wreck the ships; she didn't have anytime to wait.

"They'll just have to meet me there." she replied, turning off the ear-talkie.

Jenna ran behind the creature and moved her blade in front of her. "Hey fluffy! Wanna be my one hundred and fiftieth monster kill?"

The foe turned around and pounced on Jenna, who sidestepped and avoided serious damage. Her eyes remained focused on its clawed paws and its teeth. One wound from those and she'd be confined to bed until she recovered.

She attacked it fiercely, making a gash right above the left eye. It grew even more violent. It began to attack Jenna in series of teeth movements and claws flying. She evaded its attacks with agility but she knew she couldn't last long like this. Jenna swung her sword and hit a paw. It began to bleed but it didn't stop it from trying to tear her from limb to limb.

She kept up with its movements desperately. She was waiting for the backup Felix had promised, slightly regretting her reckless actions. Just as she was about to run, some sort of golden light shot at the beast, making it freeze in midair. Jenna looked at it in a confused manner before looking up at the sky. Four parachutes were coming down from the twilit sky, the Lemurian ship hovering above them.

"Are you alright?" asked Isaac, landing next to her.

"Of course!" she replied.

The three other parachutes landed close by and three young adepts stepped in, weapons in hand and looking ready for a fight.

"Captain?" inquired a young brown haired boy, looking at Jenna.

"Surround it. Isaac, can you unfreeze it on my signal?"

Isaac nodded. The five warriors surrounded the monster, weapons at the ready.

"Alright," said Jenna, "now!"

Isaac waved his hand lightly and the beast became movable again. Everyone expected it to try and run for it, but instead, filled with bad temper, it pounced on Jenna, who taken by surprise was knocked on the ground. The beast sank its teeth into her shoulder. The fire adept let out a low gasp of pain.

"Paws off. She's mine." said Isaac. "_Celestial Ordeal_"

The beast was simply turned to ashes and was scattered in the wind. Jenna began to stand up, putting a hand on her wounded shoulder to stem the flow of the bleeding.

Isaac ripped a part of his cloak and wrapped it around the gash. Jenna looked at him for a moment and smiled. There was a sudden instant of silence where they both wanted to feel each other's lips against theirs.

"We…should get back to the ship." said Jenna. She turned the ear-talkie back on by pressing a button on the device. "Felix, bring her down. Mission complete."

There was a rush of wind as the wings of the ship beat hard and slowly went down to the docks.

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"For Sol's sake, Jenna! You're a Captain. You're expected to give a good example to our recruits."

"Did you want all of the boats Champa has to be torn to pieces by an evil wolf like creature?" she said as Mia removed the piece of cloth used as a bandage over her wound.

Jenna was sitting on Mia's operating table aboard the Lemurian Ship. Felix was standing in front of them, upset at his sister's recklessness.

"You could have waited for backup." said Felix.

"Oh stop worrying so much, I'm a big girl now." Jenna stifled a gasp of pain as Mia placed a cloth of disinfectant on her shoulder.

Felix was about to reply but Piers appeared in the doorway. "She handled it pretty well before Isaac and the kids arrived. I'd know, I was the one piloting. Stop being so stiff."

Felix sighed, slightly smiled at his sister as to congratulate her and turned on his heel to leave the healing sector. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and bent down, his whole body trembling.

"Felix!" exclaimed Jenna and Mia, both rushing to his side.

Piers had caught his friend and was now placing two fingers on his right temple, sending calm to his head.

_We call it Alcrestemia. Turns out that our mentors suffered from the same thing. It's an illness which appears when the level of alchemy is too high into the blood system of an adept. Our teachers, who would always heal themselves using psynergy and were constantly exposed to high alchemical rays had suffered from the same disease. _

"It's my fault, isn't it?" asked Jenna as Felix collapsed into Piers' arms.

"No, it has nothing to do with you." said Piers, lifting up Felix's limp form and placing him on a bed.

_A few years ago, Felix suffered a deadly wound from Alex's ancient form atop of Mercury Lighthouse and the only one who could save him from death was Kera. In the end, she had to use so much power that Felix's whole body reacted. He now has moments like these, when his mind just blocks…and then he becomes weak for a few days, but he doesn't like to show it. Sol, show him mercy and let him live…_

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"Aren't we heading back to Vale?" asked Garet as Piers stirred the ship east towards the ocean rather than northwest back to their hometown.

"I'm afraid we can't. We just got a high psynergy alert from Izumo. Felix told me to check it out after we were done with the beast in Champa."

"Again?" said Sheba, raising her eyebrows. "Can't they give us a break?"

"I'd say…" said Isaac, sitting on one of the chairs in the navigation room. "I thought things would be peaceful when we turned the Great Serpent back into a statue."

"Guess there's already another problem." said Garet. "You know, sometimes I wish we could all warp like you, Isaac. It would make things easier."

"Easier? You're forgetting the time I left my leg behind." said Isaac with a grimace as he stood up. "I'll go check on Jenna."

"You guys better get some sleep." said Piers, putting the ship on autopilot. "We won't be in Izumo until morning. We all need rest."

_We renovated the ship, thanks to Lemuria's best technicians. It's much bigger and more efficient now. We even gave it a name that would suit us: the Valean. _

_And the kids, they're adepts too. There's only about fifteen of them, but they've been a big help. We're traveling a bit everywhere around Weyard, tracking down adepts, monsters, and sometimes even Proxian soldiers. Since the face down at Mercury Lighthouse, we haven't seen much of 'Kraden' or Alex, but we know he's still out there, planning whatever he plans on doing._

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"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Isaac for about the hundredth time that night.

"_Yes!_" said Jenna stiffly as she got into bed. "Felix might have told me he didn't want me to land in Izumo with everyone else tomorrow but that doesn't mean I'm not alright."

"I'll believe it when I'll see you holding your sword normally." said Isaac, taking off his shirt and getting in bed next to her. "That's why Felix asked you to stay behind."

Jenna frowned and turned her back to him. This only made Isaac chuckle. He loved her fiery temper. He slowly put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Hey, we're all just a bit worried that's all." he whispered into her hair. "If I know you as well as I think I do, you'll be able to lift that forty-five pounder sword in the morning."

Jenna's injured shoulder twitched involuntarily underneath its bandage. "'Least there was no venom." she mumbled sleepily. "…wait a second. Isaac!"

"What?" asked her lover innocently.

"You know very well what! You're using your anesthetic psynergy to make me sleepy again!"

Jenna fought against Isaac's arms. "No I'm not…" he said in the same mock innocent voice, adding another dose of his power. Jenna fell limp.

"Sorry, Jenna…you needed rest, and since you wouldn't sleep on your own…"

Isaac knew she'd be angry when she woke up, probably enough to give him the silent treatment for a few days…but he'd make it up to her once they were back in Vale. For now, he could only think about what was big enough to give off a psynergy signal when they were leagues away from Izumo…

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Gold light oozed into the med center, making Felix open his eyes slightly. Was it dawn already? He made it to sit up but a hand pushed him back down.

"You shouldn't stand yet, Felix." said a melodious voice. Felix recognized it at once.

"Kera…" he whispered with a smile.

"I'm sorry I haven't been to see you in a while…there's been much going in Gods' Lands." she said, tracing the contour of his face with her gentle fingers. Felix took her hand in his and brought it to his lips.

"How're our elders doing?" he asked.

"Very busy…they've been trying to track down Kraden, but it's been useless with all of those monsters running loose. But they smile about it…I can't understand why but they told me 'feels just like old times'."

"Of course…" whispered Felix. "It's like reliving again for them. Monsters everywhere, getting in the way. I guess that in a way it makes them happy to find old feelings they felt when they were alive."

"You're young, yet you know so much…" said Kera. She suddenly withdrew her hand from his. "I'm sorry Felix, I have to go. Mars figured out I've escaped."

She turned to leave but Felix, who had sat up, caught her by the wrist.

"Are you eluding the gods to come here?" he asked sturdily.

"Yes…I knew you wouldn't agree." she said, her head down.

"I'm not worth you putting your life in danger. You told me that you were going with our elders to be safe…so that we could be together when –"

Kera interrupted him by pressing her lips against Felix's. "Love makes you do reckless things." she whispered. "Now, I have to go back." However, Kera made no action to move. Felix wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't come back. Please…for your own sake, don't come back until all of the augury's words have come true." he whispered pleadingly.

"You'll need me later on to play my part. I love you Felix…" and with that she warped out of their world, as though she had melted through Felix's hands.

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"You know, I might die out there." said Isaac mockingly. He was on the bridge with Jenna. She was standing with her back to him, looking out at the island of Izumo that was growing larger by the minute. Isaac was making another attempt for Jenna to talk to him. So far, he couldn't get a word out of her.

"I know you're angry at me, but think about it! With me around, you don't need sleeping pills!" he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Jenna shrugged it off.

"You know very well I can't stay mad at you." said Jenna finally.

Isaac laughed. "I think I broke a record." he said.

"And what's that?" asked Jenna.

"It usually takes me more than five hours to get you to talk to me again." said Isaac with a smile. Jenna punched him on the shoulder.

"I'm in love with an idiot." she said, kissing Isaac lightly on the lips.

"Alright, lovebirds." said Felix, coming on the bridge with everyone else, including a few of the younger adepts. "Time to go."

Jenna and Isaac broke apart. "Be careful." she whispered as he left to join Felix.

It felt strange to see everyone leave without her. Jenna sighed as soon as they had set foot on the island and went back below deck.

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"It feels a bit odd to be known around here." said Garet.

"What can I say? They're all adepts. The other people who we help can't know who we are." said Isaac.

"And why is it that normal people can't see who we are again?" asked Felix.

"Because it's the code of honor of the Outlaws." said Isaac.

"I swear on the honor of my friends," began Garet and Isaac, placing a hand over their heart "to continue causing havoc upon our surroundings, to have no remorse, to never put a fellow outlaw in danger, and to never reveal the identity of the Outlaws to the rest of the world."

"Didn't Jenna break that oath by telling me who you were?" said Felix.

"Technically, yes." said Garet. "But in order to recruit Ivan, Sheba, and Mia, she burned the official contract."

Everyone laughed at this remark, even Felix cracked a smile. He hadn't been for the Outlaws at first, but seeing that they had been at it since grade school and had never been caught, he began to trust their judgment. They never did reveal their identity in their senior year of high school, and they had graduated with a bang. Somewhere inside himself, Felix felt proud of his sister.

"Alright, so why are we here again?" asked Ivan, stretching.

"We got a high psynergy read on this place last night." said Felix. "Izume told me this morning by phone that she and the other inhabitants felt the shake right about when we were in Champa and that the phenomenon happened again around dawn."

"So our job is to figure out what's doing it?" asked Garet.

"That, and to stop the cause." said Felix.

Isaac sighed and looked at the sky. If it hadn't been for this mission, he would be back in Vale with Jenna…maybe he would have warped them on the Apojii Islands for the day…

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Jenna was spinning in one of the office chairs in the command center. When they first had started their whole heroic act, she never thought she would have been bored aboard the Valean.

_It's kinda nice being alone for once…_she thought, closing her eyes. She hadn't really had a moment without someone around her in a few weeks. The Outlaws had been as busy as ever lately. In between their missions, their training, Isaac, and college, Jenna had found it hard to find a moment to herself lately.

BAM

Jenna's chair collided with the nearby bookshelf, sending her and a few books flying off. After shaking her head a few times to rid herself of the slight shock, she began to pick up what had been dropped. As her hand made contact with the last book on the floor, she felt a sudden urge to open it. Setting the pile of books aside, Jenna sat at the desk and opened the leather-bound book. It was some sort of diary. As she turned the pages, she read certain excerpts of the augury and notes that the owner has written on them. It took Jenna a while to figure out that the round lettered words that had been scribbled on the pages belonged to Isaac.

"I can't believe I haven't thought even more about that old poem since Imil three years ago…" she said to herself as her eyes traveled through Isaac's notes. According to her boyfriend, Imil wasn't safe from destruction just yet. There was a last verse which he had written at least three pages on. "_See the three ancient kings multiplied by three."_

They had overlooked this…had their struggles in mercury lighthouse been all in vain? Was something bigger and stronger heading towards Imil? Jenna would have to ask Isaac as soon as they got back. In the meantime, she placed the books back, including her lover's journal, and decided to check on the kids that had stayed behind on the ship.

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"People live underground here, don't they?" asked Felix, pointing to a ladder leading into the ground.

"Yes," answered Izume, who was escorting them to Mt. Mikage to check on the Great Serpent, "but they've been evacuated until further notice. Luckily, no one was seriously injured in the earthquakes."

Isaac grew suddenly rigid. Something had caught his attention underground.

"What is it?" asked Garet, who was starting to get used to Isaac's sharp senses.

"There's something underground…" said Isaac, focusing on it.

Felix stood for a long time rooted to the ground, thinking about what he should do.

"We'll split." said Felix. "Piers, Cameron, and I will go to Mt. Mikage with Izume to check if everything is alright."

The three individuals nodded. "The rest of you, go down to the underground inhabitations and investigate there. Isaac, you're in command."

Felix, Piers, and the young earth adept Cameron turned and left towards the mountain, lead by Izume.

"Well, you heard the chief, let's go!" said Isaac, excited to lead alone for once.

The underground district of Izumo was the poor part of the island. Not many natives could afford the houses so they bought apartments under the earth. It was a giant tunnel maze in which most people got lost the first few times.

"It's here." said Isaac as soon as his feet touched the ground from the ladder.

"What is?" asked Mizuki, a young and curious fire adept.

"The serpent." said Isaac, pulling out his sword from his back and hurrying to follow the reptile's trail.

"Isn't it stone? Why would it be here?" asked Mia.

"I don't know, but Isaac's never been wrong before." said Garet, picking up his pace to catch up his friend. The rest of the party had no choice but to follow them.

"Slow down." said Isaac, stopping.

"What is it?" asked Sheba.

"Be quiet." said Isaac, raising a hand. The tunnel above them began to tremble.

"GET DOWN!" yelled the earth adept, raising his hands to make a barrier around his friends.

Sheba dragged Mizuki and the other cadet, Arnon, on the ground just in time. The tunnel collapsed, leaving the team unarmed thanks to Isaac's psynergy.

"Well, we won't be getting around that way…" said Ivan, looking in front of him.

"Damn it…" said Isaac, punching the nearby wall. "We were so close!"

"Isaac, since we're stuck here, why don't you tell us what's going on?" said Mia, sitting down and beaconing everyone to do so.

Isaac sighed and sat down with the rest. "I think the serpent is being controlled by _him_."

No one spoke for a while; they sat there, gapping at Isaac.

"How can you be sure?" asked Garet.

"It's obvious." said Isaac. "No one could have broken the seal we used to stabilize the serpent a year back. Only Kraden would have been able to. And even so, it's not smart enough to get out of his mountain without being seen, come into these tunnels, hide out for a while and try to come out right now, without being seen."

"But why?" asked Ivan.

"Use your brain." said Isaac. "That serpent is one big foe. If he has it on his side, then there's no telling what he could do."

There was a beast-like scream far ahead. Everyone turned their heads towards the source of the noise.

"It's trying to rejoin its master." said Isaac, getting up. "We need to contact Felix and tell him what's going on. He should at least try to stop it before it reaches the sea."

Garet connected his earpiece and began to try to contact Felix.

"Damn it!" he said taking off the earpiece.

"What is it?" asked Isaac.

"We're too far under." said Garet. "The radio waves aren't reaching Felix on Mt. Mikage."

"Then we'll have to take care of it ourselves." said Isaac, touching the rock blocking his way. "Jenna's alone on the ship with a bunch of cadets. The serpent is probably ready to destroy anything in its path."

"You can't be thinking about using your powers to get us all out of here!" said Sheba. "You won't be of any use afterwards!"

"How do you suppose we get out of here?" asked Isaac, angry.

"With this." said Garet, pulling out a metal tube from his pack.

"What the hell is that?" asked Ivan.

"That is a high pressure explosive. One little spark opens the tube and makes the gun powder inside go boom." said Garet, sounding excited.

"Are you sure that thing's safe?" asked Isaac.

"If you make a barrier around everyone when I blast it open." said Garet.

"What about you?" asked Isaac.

"I'm fire-resistant." said Garet.

"No you're not." said Isaac.

"No, but you won't need me to fight that serpent. You can take it on without anyone else. The blow won't kill me so you can just come back for me afterwards." said Garet.

"No, I'm not letting you do this." said Isaac.

"It's the only way out without you exhausting yourself and leaving everyone to their doom." said Garet. "And Mia'll just patch me up afterwards, right hun?"

Mia simply bit her lip. "He's right Isaac, it's the only way to get out of here." she said.

"You're going to let your boyfriend do this?" asked Isaac.

"He'll be fine, you should know that Garet is made tougher than anyone else here." said Mia. "Just trust him."

Isaac looked away. "Alright, but it's the first and last time you do this to yourself."

Isaac regrouped everyone behind him and nodded to Garet. He was shaking as much as he had been shaking in his first battle atop mercury lighthouse. Jenna would punch him for this later…

He materialized the barrier and looked away. The blast came shortly after. He heard Mia screaming Garet's name and then nothing. Isaac opened his eyes. Dust was flying everywhere and daylight was finding its way down to them. He let down the barrier and ran towards his best friend. He was severely injured but he was breathing. His eyes were half open. He was still conscious after the blast!

"You can contact Felix now. You should hurry." said Garet.

"_Isaac, we saw your blast. Jenna is coming to pick you up with the ship. The serpent reached the sea."_ said Felix voice in Garet's earpiece.

"Come for me after." said Garet.

"We're not leaving you behind." said Isaac. He connected his earpiece to the ship.

"Jenna, come down to ground level with the ship. Garet won't be able to climb the ladder."

"_WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?_" she yelled so loud that Isaac winced.

"We'll explain later." said Ivan to stop the argument.

The Valean made a slow decent towards the hole. Felix came out to help Garet inside the ship. Isaac felt that he would be blamed for his friend's recklessness.

"Sorry…" said Isaac to Felix before climbing on board. "He saved us all, you know."

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_Woosh._

_Sorry for the crappy ending of the first chapter. I had to cut it short. It was starting to get a bit too long._

_So anyways, tell me what you think about this. I need as much opinions as possible to mold this. _

_Until chapter 2 everyone!_

_Miyu.Lara_


	2. Kraden's Invention

_I'll try my hardest to not make this a crappy sequel. _

_That's all I need to say._

_Reviewers:_

_The Great Unknown- Thank you…yeah that's pretty much all I can say. And sorry for the wait, a lot has been going on._

_SSJmusicfighter282- -blushes- this review made my day. I think I consider the main character to be Isaac…though I tend to lean towards other characters too. I like to add Piers to the main character's circle too, sometimes. Thanks for the praise, helps me out a lot. And prequel is coming soon-ish. Since I started on new stories, I haven't had time to work much on it. But it's coming, slowly but surely!_

_GoddessIrui- -usual smile while reading review- Haha I found the 'paws off' comment ironic since the monster did have paws…yeah random 'not-funny-humor-'. Felix is sick, yeah. You'll see throughout the story that he tries not to use psynergy unless he really has to. No one can get used to the Kraden/Alex thing…but I had to bring in Kraden somehow. –lols- Isaac and Jenna are nineteen now, and they're perfectly old enough to do what they want to do. Yes, sometimes I envy Isaac and his sleeping psynergy, I'd cast it on myself most of the time. Anyways, thanks for the review. Glad to have your support._

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Chapter 2: Kraden's Invention

"Piers, take the controls." said Jenna angrily as she tried her best to follow in the serpent's trail in the water. Piers took her place as she reunited with Isaac.

"Alright, what happened out there?" she said, her arms crossed.

"He wanted to blast apart the tunnel we were stuck in." said Isaac. "I tried to stop him but he insisted and it was the only way out."

Jenna looked angry. She stared at Isaac with a look of undermost disbelief.

"Well if you guys are so angry, why don't you take it out on the serpent?" said Felix. Jenna and Isaac both sighed. "Alright, that's settled, go get ready guys."

Jenna stumped away to the ship's armory/weaponry and Isaac followed her. They'd have to settle this once they got back.

"My equipment please, Gingai." said Jenna grumpily to the young cadet who was in charge of handing it out.

"My spare armor please." said Isaac, whose current one had been slightly damaged by Garet's blast.

"What happened to it, Captain?" asked Gingai, handing Jenna her armor.

"Long story." said Isaac. "Can you mend it?"

"Sure can!" said Gingai, heaving Jenna's sword towards her.

Isaac exchanged armor and went to help Jenna tie her own.

"I don't need your help." she said, pulling away.

"I don't need you mad at me at the moment." said Isaac, suddenly irritated. "We need to work as a team for the battle ahead."

"We are a team. I hope you won't let me blast myself to pieces for that." said Jenna, lifting her sword and marching out of the room.

Isaac followed her, slipping his fingers through hers. "Let's settle this later, shall we? We've got a serpent to K-O."

Jenna nodded reluctantly and opened the door to the bridge, where everyone was waiting for them.

"You'll be taking the SS Stormer to reach it. Daniel is waiting for you in the defense room." said Piers. "Good luck guys."

"No sweat." said Isaac confidently, putting an arm around Jenna and together they warped in front of the young pilot.

"Finally." said Daniel. "Come on, get in." They quickly got into the tiny sailing ship, now equipped with a motor thanks to the young wind adept.

"Request for launch." said Daniel, speaking into his earpiece.

The floor below the Stormer opened in some massive trap door, sending the small ship into a free drop unto the sea.

"How close can you get us to it?" asked Jenna.

"Very close." said Daniel, stirring the wheel and propulsing the motors to catch up to the giant green mass in front of them.

"Ready love?" asked Isaac, smiling at Jenna.

"Ready as I'll ever be." said Jenna.

Isaac charged his palms with energy and hit the serpent squarely on the back while Jenna climbed on the crow's nest to analyze their enemy; something she had been accustomed to doing during a ship battle.

"Weak point?" asked Isaac, satisfied to see that his provocation was making the serpent double-back.

"The neck." said Jenna into her ear-piece. "I'll try to get his head up and you can…"

But she didn't have time to finish her sentence. The serpent swung his huge tail towards the crow's nest, sending the remains (and Jenna) flying into the ocean.

"Jenna!" screamed Isaac, suddenly forgetting about his foe and looking out into the sea to see her coming back into the surface.

"CAPTAIN!" screamed Daniel. The Serpent had lunged for the ship, missing it by millimeters thanks to Daniel's expert steering.

Isaac returned to the serpent, reassuring himself by thinking that Jenna was an accomplished swimmer and that she would reappear soon enough. He concentrated all of his energy to his target, making a sphere of energy around it.

"I'm sorry, master. It seems I'll have to let my psynergy take over once again." he mumbled to himself. He concentrated his entire energy on his target, ready to unleash his full power on the beast.

"Isaac, I know what you're going to do." said Jenna's voice inside of his earpiece. "Don't do it."

"Jenna, go underwater. Swim as far as you can from the Serpent and only come back up when you're sure it's gone." said Isaac, ignoring her comment.

"We can beat it without you shortening your life." said Jenna.

"Equivalent exchange, Jenna." said Isaac. "That way Garet and I are even. Now, please just do as I say."

"…be careful." said Jenna.

Isaac closed his eyes and felt every bit of psynergy leave his body. For a few seconds, he was nothing, and then life flowed back into him. Isaac collapsed on his knees and opened his eyes. There was nothing in sight in front on him. He had destroyed the Serpent. His mind at ease, he let himself fall against the deck of the SS Stormer.

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Jenna stared at her two best friends unconscious in the med center with a slight smirk on her face. Somehow, they always ended up in here together.

"Equivalent exchange, my ass." she said. "You just love being 'beat up buddies' up here."

"Yep, it's become a hobby." said Mia, coming in the room. "And I'm the one stuck stitching them back together. How are you feeling?"

"_I'm _alright." said Jenna.

"Aren't our boys idiots sometimes?" said Mia. "They still respect a vow you three made when you were kids."

"_I will repay a wrong with a wrong._" recited Jenna.

"Is that why you were so angry at Isaac?" asked Mia. "Were you afraid he wasn't going to respect that rule?"

"He would have done it even if I hadn't gotten angry." said Jenna. "We're all still attached to those rules, even today. I only gave him a little push."

"So you weren't worried when he used his full power earlier?" asked Mia.

"Of course I was." replied Jenna. "Using that psynergy shortens his life. He could have done it another way. That's why I find him stupid."

Jenna started towards the door. Mia laughed lightly as she watched her go. "Well said." she mumbled, looking at Garet stirring in his sleep.

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"Home sweet home." said Isaac, stretching as the ship continued its way to Vale. "Wonder if the fish are still alive."

Jenna didn't answer. She had hardly moved from her position all evening. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

Jenna's eyes seemed to just go back into focus. "Huh?" she said, looking at Isaac. "Oh…nothing important."

"Don't make me get Ivan out here." said Isaac with a smirk.

Jenna sighed and pressed her back against the railing.

"While you guys were in Izumo," began Jenna "I accidentally found your research journal and…"

"And you saw things I didn't want to tell anyone just yet." said Isaac.

"Isaac, don't tell me we went to Imil too quickly." said Jenna. "It's clear that we overlooked the augury when we did this."

"…I don't know. We'll talk about this once we're back in Sol Sanctum." said Isaac. "Stop worrying so much. We always come through. Unless…there's something else?"

For an answer, Jenna took something from her pocket. "When you blew up the Serpent, this thing came out of him." She handed it to him, her hands trembling. It was some sort of small metal disk. Some sort of blue liquid flowed into it as if it were blood. Isaac stared at it, his eyes wide.

"That thing should have been destroyed along with the serpent." said Isaac. "How did it…?"

"I don't know. Whatever it is, it's probably what woke it up." said Jenna.

"Kraden?" asked Isaac, perplexed.

"I think so." said Jenna.

"We should show this to Felix." said Isaac, giving the object back to her. "I don't know why you didn't show this to anyone before now, but it's obviously dangerous."

"Let's go." she said, as if she hadn't heard him.

They stepped back into the bridge and found Felix on the ground.

"Another attack?" asked Isaac as he and Jenna got closer.

Jenna kneeled next to her brother's head and bit her lower lip so hard it turned white.

"His heartbeat actually stopped for a few seconds." said Mia. "It's never happened before."

"That's it." said Jenna. "Piers, land the ship. We'll get to Vale in the morning."

"What makes you so sure it's the ship's fault?" asked Sheba.

"The ship uses our psynergy to fly." said Isaac. "Jenna's right. We've been flying for too long. We need to be careful from now on."

After a few minutes, the ship made a gentle decent on the ground. The light thump seemed to bring Felix back to his senses.

"Easy, buddy." said Garet.

Felix sat up and blinked a few times to get his eyes into focus. Jenna simply got up without looking at him and left the room. Her brother stared after her, his expression puzzled. Felix slowly got to his feet and followed her.

Jenna was standing on the deck, looking at the disk she had found.

"Jenna…?" said Felix, getting close to her.

Felix's eyes widened in horror. Jenna had turned around. Her eyes were dark and empty. Without warning, she used her fire psynergy on her brother, who dodged it.

"Jenna!" he screamed. "What's gotten into you?"

Suddenly, an arrow zoomed across the deck and hit the small disk in her hand. It looked as if Jenna had taken the blow. She let out a little 'oh.' of surprise before falling on the ground.

"Nice shot, Garet!" said Mia.

"Archery lessons did pay off after all." said Garet.

"I knew this thing meant trouble." said Isaac, walking towards the mysterious disk. The strange blue liquid oozed out of it. "Whatever you do, don't touch that stuff."

Isaac turned Jenna on her back and pressed his hand against her cheek. "I'm sorry, Felix. It's my fault. I should have noticed she was acting strangely."

Felix walked over to his sister and kneeled in front of her. "You've touched that thing too?" he asked.

"Yes, I did." replied Isaac, lowering his gaze back to Jenna.

"Alright." he said, getting back up. "Piers, head to Vale."

"But-" protested Piers.

"I don't care if it's bad for me, we need to get back to the sanctum." said Felix. Piers nodded reluctantly and left to the bridge, accompanied by Mia, Garet, Ivan and Sheba. "And you two," added Felix "will be placed in quarantine once we reach Mt. Aleph. For now, get her to your room and don't leave it until we arrive."

Isaac nodded. "I'm sorry I keep messing up." he added, before picking up Jenna.

"Just watch over her." said Felix, returning to the bridge, leaving Isaac to wallow into his ocean of shame.

* * *

_Sorry again for the wait guys. I've been really busy repainting my bedroom, writing my novel and dealing with other matters. Don't worry, I didn't forget about you guys (or the Outlaws for that matter). I apologize for the short-ish chapter too. I'm getting lazy._

_Anyways, I can't wait to hear your comments about this so fire away. _

_Miyu.Lara _


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